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Sheriff blames jail overcrowding for recent attack on deputy

Authorities release less-serious offenders to make room for more dangerous inmates

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Updated: 9:15 PM CST Dec 19, 2013

Sheriff blames jail overcrowding for recent attack on deputy

Authorities release less-serious offenders to make room for more dangerous inmates

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Updated: 9:15 PM CST Dec 19, 2013

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. —

Washington County Sheriff Tim Helder said the recent attack on a deputy by an inmate in the Washington County Jail is due to an overcrowded jail.

Helder said the jail is so full that he has released criminals with less-serious offenses to make room for the more dangerous offenders.

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“I think we have 20-some-odd on ankle monitors,” Helder said. “The ones that we could get out, we did.”

Helder said overcrowding at the state level is making his jail more dangerous.

“Of the type of people that we’ve got here, it’s just going to generate more violence,” he said.

Helder said the more serious offenders should be going to the state prison; however, there is no room for them in Little Rock. Helder said he started tackling the overcrowding problem in November.

Helder said the jail is so full that officials have had inmates sleeping on floors. He said with fewer criminals being sent to the state prison, the jail is seeing violent attacks in the jail more often.

“These things are happening more frequently now that we have these overcrowding situations,” Helder said.

Helder said his jail is not the only one dealing with overcrowding. He said state leaders are realizing this is a problem across the state. He said there are no immediate plans to fix the problem.

Helder said he does not believe adding additional deputies would help stop the violence caused by overcrowding.